Doug Henwood wrote: > > The point is that a Democratic president & a Democratic Congress passed it. I still can't understand your insistence on tagging passage on "a Democratic Congress." The entire Dem leadership structure dissolved on this issue, and Rep. Bonior rallied a majority of Dems and nearly sunk the thing. It's worth distinguishing between the party leadership -- the White House, fatcat contributors, assorted reptiles -- and the House leadership. Another reason this is not a very good example is that there are more than a few leftists for free trade, or at least for not making an issue of trade liberalization. If the left is divided on this, why in the world expect the Democratic Party to be different? > On NAFTA - is the AFL-CIO following through on its threats to punish Dems > who voted for it? I don't think so. You're right and that's unfortunate. Punishing someone is not so easy -- it would entail running people against incumbents in primaries who would be labeled as agents of big labor vengeance. Might not work, though it's worth trying in a few places to see. I'm not sure that a Member's vote on NAFTA would justify helping a Republican take a seat -- if there's a single 'deal-breaker' issue that may not be it. Which means don't make threats if you don't have a good reason to back them up. ==================================================== Max B. Sawicky [EMAIL PROTECTED] Economic Policy Institute 202-775-8810 (voice) 1660 L St., NW, WDC, 20036 202-775-0819 (fax)
